1. Field of the Invention
In general, a wireharness and a subassembly constituting a wireharness (hereinafter, referred to as xe2x80x9cwire assemblyxe2x80x9d) are electric wiring systems forming a plurality of circuits, in which a plurality of circuit wires are connected at the same contact point. The present invention relates to a device, and a method, for covering a wire connection part in such a system, and to a heating device for use therewith.
2. Description of Background Information
In order to perform such construction of a circuit, a process of executing stripping of the ends of a plurality of different electric wires, a removal process of selecting those required to form the wire assembly from a plurality of electric wires arranged to be removed, a connecting process of executing a terminal-connecting processing to the terminal ends of respective electric wires removed, and a covering process for covering in order to protect the electric wire-connecting part of electric wires so connected (mainly water-protection), have to be carried out.
Further, the core wires are bundled together at the stripped terminal ends of covered electric wires and the terminal ends are united by an electric welding, which forms the electric wire-connecting part in the above-mentioned terminal-connecting processing.
Also, in the above-noted covering process, it is required to cover the wire connection part which is to be protected with a resin covering material, to have a filler for sealing interposed between the covered wire connection part and the covering material, and to cure the filler.
According to known automatic water-proofing processes as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Publication No. HEI-7-94253 and the molding process as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. HEI-8-33163, there is disclosed a construction in which a molding material (mold) having a recess in which a filler is to be injected is circulated on a conveyer, the wire connection part is fitted into a recess of each member, which is surrounded, and a filler is injected and cured.
In adopting the construction to cover the wire connection part with a covering material using a filler as a sealing agent as above, it is often a difficult and time consuming job to cure the filler in a suitable manner. Therefore, in the prior art apparatus referred to above, curing of the filler is accelerated by heating or cooling the material to be circulated on the conveyor according to the properties of the filler.
Additionally, since the above-mentioned known devices all have constructions to heat or cool the recess surrounding the wire connection part, it is possible to cure the filler in a relatively short period of time.
However, due to the installation and removal of the bundle of wires into and out of the recess, such work is required to be frequently practiced. Such installation and removal is extremely laborious, and contrary to the work efficiency in pursuing a flow process from the wire removal process to the covering process.
Additionally, in order to efficiently carry out the above-mentioned respective processes, it is preferable to keep a bundle of electric wires transportable and to be able to mount and remove it so that the bundle of electric wires which were bundled in the removal process of electric wires can maintain a position suitable for respective processes (or change to a position suitable for respective processes). However, since the bundle of electric wires are soft articles having some elasticity, it has been difficult to ensure that the ease of mounting and removal is compatible with the maintenance of positioning accuracy because of peculiarities, such as a bending and the like. Further, the bundles of electric wires treated in one factory includes various kinds and different lengths. Therefore, it has been much more difficult to efficiently transport a plurality of kinds of the bundles of electric wires using the same transport procedure.
The present invention was completed, considering the above-mentioned problems, and one aspect of the present invention is to make the working property compatible with the maintenance of positioning accuracy and further to provide a transport carrier and heating system using thereof.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a transport carrier for transportably supporting bundles of electric wires, in which electric wire-connecting parts are formed at one end during a plurality of processes. The transport carrier includes an electric wire hanging member on which a plurality of the bundles of electric wires are hung in a folded, parallel condition, and also includes a holder for retaining the electric wire-connecting parts which are formed on the respective the bundles of electric wires. Furthermore, a retaining device is also provided for regulatably retaining at least the electric wire-connecting parts side of the bundles of electric wires which are hung on the electric wire-hanging member and for releasably retaining the bundles of electric wires.
One aspect of the present invention is also directed to providing a method of covering the wire connection part by which the handling of the bundle of wires can be easily carried out, and the handling can be facilitated by completing the covering process using the filler in a short period of time.
In another aspect of the present invention, the bundles of electric wires WB are supported in a condition in which a fixed dimension from the terminal part is maintained, by retaining the bundles of electric wires by retaining procedures in a condition in which the electric wire-connecting parts or the parts in which the electric wire-connecting parts are formed (hereinafter, referred to as xe2x80x9cterminal partsxe2x80x9d) are positioned against the holder in order to execute a plurality of processings on the bundles of electric wires at the time of the hanging in folded condition on the wire-hanging member. Further, since the retaining procedures are formed in a condition in which the bundles of electric wires are releasable, the mounting and removal of the bundles of electric wires WB can be easily carried out.
In another aspect of the present invention, the transport carrier is further equipped with a receptacle which is provided on the electric wire-hanging member and which accommodates the bundles of electric wire on an opposite side of the electric wire-connecting parts. In this aspect of the present invention, the bundles of electric wires can be loaded in a condition in which the bundles of electric wires are protected, regardless of the length of the bundles of electric wires, by accommodating the remainder of the bundles of electric wires which were hung in folded condition on the wire-hanging member.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the retaining device is provided on the upper end part of the electric wire-hanging member, and includes a resilient member having clamping slits forming a clamping part on which the electric wire-connecting parts of the bundles of electric wires are mounted and having guide slits provided at an opposite side of the resilient member. In this aspect of the invention, at the time of hanging the bundles of electric wires, the bundles of electric wires first can be relatively easily clamped by introducing the bundles of electric wires into the clamping slits. It is thus possible to complete the work simply by holding the bundles of electric wires and removing from both slits when the bundles of electric wires are to be separated.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned retaining device is fixed on the electric wire-hanging member, and a fixed rib extends in a direction crossing with the hanging bundles of electric, and a pair of pressure members is arranged along a stretcher direction of the bundles of electric wires in a condition in which the fixed rib is sandwiched. Additionally, a connecting member is provided for connecting the pressure members with the electric wire-hanging member so that the pressure members are capable of changing their position relative to the fixed rib, between a sandwiching position in which respective pressure member sandwich the bundles of electric wires in cooperation with the fixed rib and a releasing position for releasing the bundles of electric wires from between the pressure members and the fixed ribs. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, the fixed rib which extends in parallel with the pressure member to press the bundles of electric wires in cooperation with the fixed rib are provided when the bundles of electric wires are retained, the retaining of a plurality of the bundles of electric and the release thereof can be carried out simultaneously by operating the connecting member.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the fixed rib is configured as a resilient member for elastically receiving the bundles of electric wires. According to this aspect, when the bundles of electric wires are sandwiched in cooperation with the pressure members, the bundles of electric wires can be resiliently pressed against the fixed ribs, and as a result, it is possible to obtain a large stopping force without damaging the bundles of electric wires, due to the resilience of the fixed rib.
In another aspect of the present invention, the holder retains the bundles of electric wires in a released condition by a pair of heat resistant metal plates which are mounted at spaced intervals allowing insertion of the electric wire-connecting parts of the bundles of electric wires. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, since the holder retains the electric wire-connecting parts, an established treatment (for example, a heating treatment and a visual inspection) can be carried out to the electric wire-connecting parts in a condition in which the electric wire-connecting parts are retained in the holder. Further, as a pair of heat resistant metal plates insertion of the electric wire-connecting parts are adopted, the pair of metal plates reflect heat as reflection boards when a heating treatment is carried out to the electric wire-connecting parts, and which contributes to the enhancement of atmospheric temperature.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the holder includes supporting members which partition the insertion holes capable of individual insertion in order to support a plurality of the electric wire-connecting parts, and the supporting members are divided so that the respective insertion holes can be released in a half divided form. According to this aspect of the invention, a plurality of the electric wire-connecting parts which are inserted into the insertion holes of the supporting member and retained can be released simultaneously.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the holder has supporting members which partition the insertion holes for individual insertion in order to support a plurality of the electric wire-connecting parts, and connecting members are provided which connect the supporting members to the wire-hanging member in a condition capable of mounting and removing. According to this aspect of the invention, the respective electric wire-connecting parts can be released simultaneously by removing the supporting members which support the electric wire-connecting parts from the wire-hanging member.
In another aspect of the present invention, a heating system is provided for curing a filler by heating, after covering the electric wire-connecting parts which are formed on the terminal of the bundles of electric wires with a cap-shape cover in which a fixed amount of a liquid filler is previously injected. The transport carrier described above with respect to other aspects of the present invention may be utilized with the heating system. The heating system includes a heat source having a circular cross-section and which faces in parallel with the pair of supporting boards which are provided on the transport carrier. Furthermore, the center of the heat source is positioned at about the same height as the level of the filler, and the lower part of the pair of supporting boards is spaced downwardly from the filler level by about a radius of the heat source. According to this aspect of the present invention, during a process of heating, heat from the heat source is efficiently radiated between the pair of the supporting boards, and the level of the filler positioned between them is cured. Additionally, as the lower supporting board among the pair of supporting boards is lower than the filler level by about the radius of the heat source, the volume of the filler (heat capacity) arranged between the pair of supporting boards becomes a minimum condition within a region in which temperature subjected to heat-radiation is high.
In a further aspect of the invention, a transport carrier is provided for transportably supporting, during a plurality of processes, a bundle of electric wires in which electric wire-connecting parts are formed on one end of each bundle of wires. The transport carrier includes an electric wire-hanging member on which a plurality of bundles of electric wires are hung in a parallel folded condition, a holder for retaining the electric wire-connecting parts which are formed on respective bundles of electric wires, and retaining mechanism capable of regulatably retaining at least the electric wire-connecting parts side of the bundle of electric wires hung on the electric wire-hanging member, while releasably retaining the bundle of electric wires.
According to another aspect of the invention, the transport carrier may further include a receptacle provided on the electric wire-hanging member which accommodates an end part of the bundles of electric wires opposite to the electric wire-connecting parts, the retaining mechanism may be provided on an upper end part of the electric wire-hanging member, and the retaining mechanism may further include a resilient body having at least one slit for clamping a part on which the electric wire-connecting part of an electric wire bundle is formed and at least one guide slit provided opposite to the electric wire-connecting part of the at least one slit for clamping.
In another aspect of the invention, the retaining mechanism of the transport carrier may be fixed on the electric wire-hanging member, and the retaining mechanism may further include a fixed rib extending in a direction crossing with at least one bundle of electric wires that are hung, and a pair of pressure members may be arranged along a crossing direction of the bundle of electric wires in a condition in which the fixed rib is positioned therebetween. At least one pivoting arm may be pivotally connected with an electric wire-hanging member so that each pressure member is movable relative to the fixed rib between a sandwiching position in which the respective pressure members integrally support and sandwich a bundle of electric wires together with the fixed rib and a releasing position for releasing the bundle of electric wires from between the pressure members and fixed rib. Furthermore, the fixed rib may be formed from a resilient member for engagement with the bundle of electric wires.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the holder of the transport carrier may retain a bundle of electric wires in a releasable condition by a pair of heat resistant metal plates mounted at spaced intervals which permit insertion of the electric wire-connecting parts of the electric wires bundle. The holder may also include at least one supporting member having a plurality of insertion holes allowing individual insertion of and support for a plurality of electric wire-connecting parts, and the supporting members may be divided such that the respective insertion holes can be release in a half-divided form. Additionally, the holder may include supporting members which form insertion holes which permit individual insertion in order to support a plurality of the electric wire-connecting parts and connecting members which allow removable connection of the supporting members to the wire-hanging member.
In another aspect of the present invention, a heating system be provided for curing a filler by heating, after covering an electric wire-connecting part which is formed on a terminal of an electric wire bundle by use of a cap-shaped cover into which a fixed amount of liquid filler is preliminarily injected, by using the transport carrier constructed and arranged as set forth above. The heating system may include a heat source having a circular cross-section, and the heat source may be positioned generally parallel with and between the supporting boards. Additionally, a hood shaped reflector having reflection boards may also be provided which open between the above-mentioned pair of supporting boards, with the center of the heat source being set at about the same height as the level of filler, and a lower part of the pair of supporting boards may be spaced downwardly from the level of filler by a radius of the heat source.
Another aspect of the invention includes a method for covering a wire connection part, including removing a plurality of electric wires and conveying the wires by a conveying device, electrically connecting core parts of the wires at exposed terminal ends thereof to form a wire connection part, covering the wire connection part with a covering material having insulation properties, and filling a filler for sealing in a gap between the covering material and the wire connection part. The method further includes injecting a filler having thermosetting properties into a covering material having a cap-shaped form, covering the wire connection part with the injected covering material, conveying the covered wire connection part by the conveying device, and heating the liquid surface of the filler at a set position relative to a heat source of a heating device.
In a further aspect of the invention, the method for covering a wire connection part may further include surrounding the covering material with a pair of spaced reflector plates provided on the conveying device and spaced upwardly and downwardly relative to the filler, and positioning the space between the pair of reflector plates to face toward the heat source of the heating device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the method for covering a wire connection part may further include covering the heat source with a hood-shaped reflecting plate which opens only between the pair of supporting plates, forming the heat source to have a circular cross-section, and arraying a lower one of the pair of supporting plates below a center of the heat source and at about an upper level of the filler by a radius of the heat source.